Some of the world's biggest handset makers and telecom carriers are embracing alternative mobile operating systems this year in a quest to become credible challengers to smartphones run by Apple Inc. AAPL +2.38% and Google Inc. GOOG +1.87%
些世界最大的手机制造商和电信运营商今年将支持不同以往的手机操作系统，目标是对苹果(Apple Inc.)和谷歌(Google Inc.)支持的智能手机构成有效挑战。
These companies are hoping they can outgun attempts by Microsoft Corp. MSFT +0.78% and Research In Motion Ltd. BB.T -0.19% to emerge as a third alternative platform to the iPhone and Android devices, which have a virtual stranglehold on the market.
这些公司希望，此类新操作系统的表现能够超过微软(Microsoft Corp.)和Research In Motion Ltd.(RIM)，成为能够取代iPhone和安卓(Android)设备的第三种可供选择的平台。iPhone和安卓设备目前几乎对市场拥有绝对的控制。
Manufacturers such as Huawei Technologies Co., LG Electronics Inc. 066570.SE +0.12% and ZTE Corp. 000063.SZ +5.23% are building phones for Mozilla's Firefox OS due out this year with the support of several major carriers.
华为(Huawei Technologies Co.)、LG电子(LG Electronics Inc.)和中兴通讯股份有限公司(ZTE Corp.)等制造商在几家主要运营商的支持下正在制造搭载Mozilla的火狐操作系统的手机，并将于今年推出。
The first mobile phone using Tizen, a system co-developed by Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -0.39% and Intel Corp., INTC -0.21% is slated to be unveiled in the third quarter.
首款搭载Tizen的手机将于第三季度首次亮相。Tizen是三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)和英特尔(Intel Corp.)联合开发的一款操作系统。
London-based Canonical Ltd. is making a smartphone version of its Linux-based computer operating system called Ubuntu, with plans to ship the software on phones through mobile operators in the early part of 2014.
总部位于伦敦的科能软件股份有限公司(Canonical Ltd)正在开发Linux电脑操作系统的智能手机版本Ubuntu，计划于2014年年初通过移动运营商在手机上推出这款软件。
And Jolla Ltd., a Finland startup, plans to launch a smartphone based on its own proprietary 'Sailfish' platform later this year.
芬兰的初创公司Jolla Ltd.计划今年晚些时候推出基于公司专利“旗鱼”(Sailfish)平台的智能手机。
Handset makers and telecom operators say diversification is needed to bring down the cost of handsets and subsidies. Some of them also fear that market leader Google is becoming too dominant.
手机制造商和电信运营商说，为了降低手机价格和补贴，多元化是必需的。一些手机制造商和电信运营商还担心，市场领军者谷歌的主导地位正在变得过于强大。
But any new mobile operating system faces an uphill battle against deep-pocketed early movers Google and Apple.
但是，任何新的移动操作系统都将面临与谷歌和苹果这两个资金雄厚的先行者的艰难战役。
In order to gain meaningful market share, a third alternative needs to earn the support of handset manufacturers, carriers and app developers.
为了获得足够大的市场份额，第三种可供选择的手机平台需要获得手机制造商、运营商以及应用程序开发人员的支持。
Even some executives of handset makers that are supporting alternative operating systems such as Firefox privately express some skepticism.
即使一些支持火狐等其他操作系统的手机制造商的高管私下里也表达了一些质疑。
The alternative platforms must be able to attract enough software developers to create good native applications for the devices─something even BlackBerry and Microsoft have been battling to achieve.
新的操作平台必须能够吸引足够多的软件开发人员，从而为设备开发出优秀的应用程序，这一点，即使是黑莓(BlackBerry)和微软也很难做到。
'Adopting a new platform is like an insurance policy and success isn't guaranteed, ' said one executive at a handset maker.
一家手机制造商的一名高管说，采取一种新的平台就像是买保险，无法确保一定能成功。
For years, Samsung and Nokia Corp., NOK1V.HE +2.68% two of the world's biggest handset makers, invested in their own operating systems with little success despite their scale and relationship with carriers because they weren't able to attract developers to create good applications.
多年以来，世界最大的两个手机制造商──三星和诺基亚(Nokia Corp.)都投资开发了自己的操作系统，但是即便他们在规模以及与运营商的关系方面都存在优势，仍然没有成功，原因就在于他们不能吸引开发人员开发出好的应用程序。
Nokia's Symbian and Samsung's Bada had unfriendly user interfaces, slow browsers and they didn't seamlessly sync with other devices. As a result, Nokia ended up dropping the Symbian platform in favor of Microsoft's Windows-based devices. Samsung plans to integrate Bada into Tizen.
诺基亚的塞班(Symbian)和三星的Bada操作系统用户界面不友好，浏览器运行速度慢，无法与其他设备无缝协作。因此，诺基亚最后放弃了塞班平台，转而生产基于微软Windows的设备。三星计划将Bada整合进Tizen。
'If Microsoft with almost unlimited resources can't break in, it's going to make someone think twice, ' said Gartner analyst Hugues de la Vergne.
Gartner的分析师韦尔涅(Hugues de la Vergne)说，如果拥有几乎无限资源的微软都不能有所突破，其他人可能需要三思而后行。
Last year, Android and Apple's iOS accounted for 87.6% of the 722.4 million smartphones shipped world-wide, up from 68.1% in 2011, according to data from market-research firm IDC.
据市场研究公司国际数据公司(IDC)的数据，去年全球智能手机出货量为7.224亿部，其中搭载安卓和苹果iOS的手机的占比为87.6%，高于2011年的68.1%。
Samsung is the single-biggest maker of Android smartphones and will continue to use Google's software for its phones. But J.K. Shin, co-chief executive of Samsung, said the company is also open to other operating platforms like Tizen to give consumers and telecom operators more flexibility.
三星是安卓智能手机的最大生产商，并将继续在其生产的手机上使用谷歌软件。但三星联席首席执行长申宗均(J.K. Shin)说，该公司对于Tizen等其他操作平台也持开放态度，目的是向消费者和电信运营商提供更多灵活性。
To improve its user interface and software for Tizen, Samsung has been luring app developers and software engineers from overseas including India, Mr. Shin said.
申宗均说，为了改进Tizen的用户界面和软件，三星一直在吸引包括印度在内的海外应用程序开发人员和软件工程师。
Canonical product manager Richard Collins said that Ubuntu has a growing developer community and it supports native apps.
Canonical产品经理柯林斯(Richard Collins)说，Ubuntu拥有一个日渐壮大的开发人员群体，同时它还支持原生应用。
He said Ubuntu makes it quicker and easier to find apps and content than other smartphones by swiping from the screen edges rather than going in and out with the home button to find and switch applications.
他说，Ubuntu可以实现从屏幕侧边滑动来查找应用和内容，而无需通过主键来查找和切换应用，因此比其他智能手机速度更快、也更简便。
Canonical also has a partnership with Qualcomm Inc. QCOM +0.14% to launch a device that will use the U.S. company's chipsets.
Canonical还与高通公司(Qualcomm Inc.)合作，将发布一款使用高通公司芯片组的设备。
'We want to offer a viable, non-fragmented alternative to Android where both mobile operators and OEMs have a greater degree of flexibility for both service and user interface customization, ' Mr. Collins said.
柯林斯说，我们希望提供一款可行的、并非碎片化的安卓替代产品，让移动运营商和原始设备制造商在服务和用户界面定制化方面都能有更大的灵活性。
Mozilla says lower costs are a key motivation for the new ecosystems. While the developed world has deep penetration of smartphone use, that isn't yet true in emerging markets and having an accessible price point will be important.
Mozilla说，更低的成本是开发新生态系统的一个重要推动因素。虽然发达国家的智能手机普及率已经很高，但新兴市场的情况却不是这样，设定一个用户买得起的价格非常重要。
'Several billion people are going to come online in the next few years with their first smartphone, ' said Mozilla Chief Operating Officer Jay Sullivan. The organization expects Firefox OS devices to launch this summer, first in Colombia, Poland, Spain and Venezuela.
Mozilla首席运营长沙利文(Jay Sullivan)说，未来几年里，将会有数十亿人用自己的第一部智能手机上网。该公司预计搭载火狐操作系统(Firefox OS)的设备将于今年夏天首先在哥伦比亚、波兰、西班牙和委内瑞拉推出。
Firefox is based on HTML5 technology that is used on many websites and allows easier integration with the mobile browser.
火狐系统基于HTML5技术，这种技术被用于许多网站，可以更容易地与移动浏览器整合。
Tizen and Ubuntu also use HTML5 in their development, something that should allow applications on both operating systems to be interoperable. More important, HTML5 removes a layer of software from Android, said Mr. Sullivan, and thus drives down the cost of hardware needed to run it.
Tizen和Ubuntu在开发过程中也使用HTML5，这应当可以让这两个操作系统的应用程序相互兼容。沙利文说，更重要的是，HTML5在开发时较安卓少了一层软件，因此也就压低了运行所需的硬件的成本。
Another entrant, Jolla, says its 'Sailfish' platform is a second-generation operating system like BlackBerry's BB10 and is easy to use because it has a gesture-based user interface and is designed to avoid patent litigation.
另一家进入这一领域的厂商Jolla说，“旗鱼”平台是类似黑莓BB10那样的第二代操作系统，且易于使用，因为它有一个基于手势的用户界面，旨在避免专利诉讼。
'Android is open and can be used by licensees and the user interface can be modified, but these modifications are not supported by Google's release, ' said Jolla Chairman Antti Saarnio. 'Sailfish is designed to support the business partners' business models.'
Jolla董事长萨尼奥(Antti Saarnio)说，安卓是开放的，只要申请许可便能使用。其用户界面虽然可以修改，但谷歌发布的更新不支持这些修改。旗鱼的目的就是支持业务合作伙伴的业务模式。
Jolla, established by former Nokia engineers, set up a Hong Kong office last December and is aiming to expand in China with mid-to-high end smartphones.
由诺基亚前工程师创立的Jolla去年12月在香港设立了办事处，其目标是用中高端智能手机在中国扩张市场。
'In the short term, these new mobile operating systems will not make a significant dent in the market, ' said Ramon Llamas, research manager at IDC.
IDC研究负责人拉马斯(Ramon Llamas)说，在短期内，这些新的移动操作系统不会对市场构成显著影响。
'But from a long-term perspective, I expect Android to feel more pressure…and until Apple reveals a low-cost iPhone, other operating systems are going to be in a position to take share, ' Mr. Llamas said.
拉马斯说，但是从长期角度来看，我预计安卓会感到越来越大的压力……到苹果推出低端iPhone时，其它操作系统将准备好抢夺市场份额。
Telecom carriers are welcoming the new ecosystems.
电信运营商正在欢迎新的生态系统。
'We want the ecosystem to expand. We think that is good for innovation, is great for competition and over time will lower the cost of handsets, ' said Verizon Communications Inc.'s VZ -1.20% Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo. He expects that new diversity will drive down smartphone prices in the next two to three years.
Verizon Communications Inc.的首席财务长沙莫(Fran Shammo)说，我们希望生态系统能够扩大。我们认为这对创新有利，对竞争有利，随着时间的推移将降低手机价格。他预计，未来两到三年操作系统的多元化将降低智能手机的价格。